Friday, 01 February 2013
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Forgot how much hassle it is
I bought a lovely old tiger-oak desk the other day from a Craigslist ad. When I installed it in my study at home, Alicia pointed out that the finish was considerably darker than the shade we had in mind for our furniture. I sighed (silently), took it back apart (it consists of a thick top and two drawer cabinets), and dragged it out to the shop. A day or two later I bought paint stripper, thick rubber gloves, and green scrubbies at Home Depot.
Last night I spread a big plastic dropcloth, set a piece of the desk on it, and began slathering on the paint stripper with an old paintbrush. The instructions said to scrape after fifteen minutes. The product bubbled within three minutes, and at fifteen minutes was so dry that I had to slather more stripper on it to get it off at all. I worked my way around the piece three times, slathering and scraping. I got nearly all the varnish off that way, but there were streaks of stain that I couldn't scrape off. I ended up scouring the wood with a green scrubby dipped in stripper, my fourth time around.
At one point Alicia called me, and I had to take off a glove to answer. Then I was stuck with the dilemma of how to get a dirty inside-out glove back on with one hand. I worked left-handed for a while, then gave up. I went to the sink, washed my left glove, and then turned the right one right-side out, washed it, and put it back on.
(My shop has a sink! How cool is that?!)
The last step was to scrub the wood with a fresh scrubby dipped in paint thinner. I slopped the thinner on generously and scoured until there was no more residue of stripper or varnish scum.
The wood still looked a bit dark. I'll take another look at it tonight to see how it looks dry. If need be I'll give it a light sanding before I start refinishing.
Two more big pieces to go, plus drawers and several smaller pieces.
Sigh... If I had remembered how much hassle refinishing was, I would have held out for a light-colored desk.
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Comments (24)
I think I would have bought a lighter shaded set, than all that hard work. LOL!
Feel free to contact Meteorology Man for support. You menfolk who chose high maintenance women, need to stick together.
Did you take before pics???
You have so much patience. I am sure the finished piece would be a wonderful addition to the furniture at home.
This desk makes you " suffering",Tim but you will be rewarded .
I just come from Zakiah ' site where whe posted pictures of you and Alicia visiting her in Orlando . It was a great time .
In friendship
michel.
We have a few pieces we still have to paint. Good luck with your desk! I'd love to see pictures when it's complete :)
I would love to learn about that sort of stuff.
@WildWomanOfTheWest - If you want the best, you have to be willing to make the investment.
I haven't taken any pics, but there's 3/4 of the desk left to go so I'll get some next time I go in there.
@angys_coco - Hindsight is 20/20.
@Thatslifekid - There are web videos for everything now, not to mention TV programs, in-store classes, handyman magazines, and good old fashioned instructions printed right on the can. There are many things I've learned to do just by following the product instructions.
@i_am_not_short - I hate painting. I don't mind using stain and varnish, but it's very hard to apply varnish without some sort of flaw.
@ZSA_MD - I hope so! I hadn't done any refinishing in something like 13 years, after doing a bunch for my children's rooms. Those pieces came out well.
@fauquet - We did have a nice visit with Zakiah. I hope we can go see you in France someday soon.
I think the desk will look good when I'm done, but I don't want to have to do this again.
those scrubby pads are awesome....
I totally agree with what @WildWomanOfTheWest said. My husband likes to refinish wood and such. He's already done several pieces over the last three years. We don't have a wood shop, so he does it one side of the garage. After all, the other side has MY car..
@armnatmom - All the refinishing I did before was on the back porch of the house where I lived in the late 90s. It was great for the fumes, but varnishing was tough because of the bugs.
I'm sure the end result will be worth it.
Um, are you NUTS???!!! I've been through this song and dance, and the next time -- if there is a next time -- I'm payin somebody!
Did you not find the work tedious and the fumes horrendous? Gah! We've probably both got lung cancer as I type! Shoulda bought one a those thingys that doctors wear.....
You and Alicia. Such a pair! Folks with such talents and skills can be inimidating to the rest of us. Or, is it just envy?
Wish I could be as good as you are with your hands Tim..they call me green fingers because of the garden..where D I Y is concerned..useless!!
i hope the desk turns out the way you envisioned. i myself am holding out for a cedar shaded desk but I just can't justify myself forking the kind of money that some places charge.
I have worked a bit with wood and sometimes you have to experiment with a small section before going onto the rest of the wood.
Indoors wood will look different in certain types of light. I suppose morning sun will have to do rather than evening sun when you first start out on a shade of wood.
Sanding the wood and then wiping it with a moist cloth will add a bit of "stain" to the wood and when the moisture dries it will change a bit in color.
Different varnishes vary in durability. Marine varnish can take the most weather and tung oil is good for a quick job. Good luck in writing down which method you use so that you can later do a touch up.
Oh my heavens. I thought I would die taking paint off Graham's high chair so we could get it back to a natural color. Torture--& SO much work! Never again.
I have never been interested in having everything match in my house. If the desk was nice-looking with a dark stain, I would have just kept it that way.
The things you do for love!
Tell Alicia I wore her earrings today. Well, yesterday--it's early a.m. Saturday now. Love to you both.
Hi
Your website is cooooolllll!Just kidding I mean, it IS, but...you sound happy, btw. :)
Perhaps no stain, and a clear varnish... I'd be interested in seeing the grain... It sounds enticing.